ed,edd, n eddy dark contract
by johntheanimefan
Summary: the eds have their peaceful life uprooted in a matter of days, and are forced to seek help with dark forces. The further they stray from the light, the more the truth is revealed
1. wandering eds

ladies and gentlemen (and undecided), welcome to my new story based on one of my all time favorite shows, ed, ed, n eddy! Warning, like nicktoons, there will be no yaoi in this tale unless one of the oc's I make is gay. Yeah, little warning, if you hate oc's in all forms, no matter how well written, AVOID THIS STORY! Seriously, I cannot warn you enough XD

but if that doesn't bother you, then let's get started!

eddy's brother sat silently in a dark room, facing a desk where, behind it, sat a man shrouded in shadows. Between the two was a single scrap of paper with a dotted line at the bottom, facing eddy's brother. After a bit of silence, the shady one spoke "well" he said in a voice as smooth as a cold knife against a warm throat "are you going to sign? You asked for this for so long and you choose now to hesitate?" eddy's brother looked up at the man in front of him intensely

"so let me just get things straight right quick" he started "I just need to bring you three new bloods, and then I'm free?" the shrouded man gave a long cheshire cat grin

"now my dear delta" he addressed eddy's brother "I am many things, but I am no liar. Normally the price is simply one new recruit, but you are a bit more...shall we say, valuable. As such, I require compensation, you understand, correct?" eddy's brother, apparently named "delta" by this man at least, nodded in response

"I understand, and when I do, I never want to hear from you again" delta responded. The mysterious man simply nodded

"as you wish. Now then, get to work, after all, you only have three months" and with that, delta stood and walked out of the room. Sitting back in his chair, the man rang a bell and, seemingly out of nowhere, a butler dressed in a black pinstripe suit poured him a cup of tea "thank you ritter" he thanked the butler, who simply smiled

"of course, master seraphim" ritter responded in a polite tone "master seraphim, do yuo think that these new recruits will be..." he trailed off, not really having much stock in his words, therefore seeing no reason to finish the sentence. But seraphim seemed to know exactly what he was talking about

"let's hope so" he replied forebodingly "we're beginning to run out of time"

two months and 28 days later...

our heroes, the eds, sat together on the S.S mutant almost a chicken duck, drifting aimlessly through the river. Okay, not aimlessly, considering they're on a river, so they'll eventually end up SOMEWHERE, but they didn't seem all that concerned with where exactly. The three sat in silence for a good while, not having it in them to talk to one another. Honestly, after what's happened the past few days, who would be in the mood to talk? But eventually, boredom got the best of eddy and he decided to speak up

"okay" he started "I'm hungry and I'm bored out of my skull, and I know for a fact that the two of you are as well. Double d, what's the next town we're stopping at?" double d looked up from playing with splinters of wood chipping off of the floor to answer eddy's question

"hmm, let's see" double d reached into his pack and pulled out a map "well, at this rate, we should actually be arriving at new orleans shortly. So unless anyone wants to head out to sea, this'll be our stop, because we officially have nowhere else to go" eddy gulped in response but ed...just stayed asleep

"so this is it, huh?" eddy asked morbidly. They had been chased across the country, and now there was nowhere to run anymore

"afraid so" double d replied " we barely escaped kevin and the others yesterday, and I'm sure they're not far behind today. Face it, eddy, we're screwed unless we come across some kind of miracle" eddy ran a hand through his jet black hair

"I know, I'll think of something"

hours later...

the anatomically confused boat finally made its stop in the harbor of new orleans, allowing the eds to step off and stretch their legs. Eddy, however, noticed that the lummox known as ed was still fast asleep. Eddy fixed this by slapping the back of ed's head

"huh?" ed asked after his dream was so rudely interrupted. Looking up, he saw eddy standing over him, tapping his foot in impatience "oh, hello eddy, are we there yet?"

"yeah, now get up" eddy demanded, helping ed up by grabbing both of his arms. Turning around, our unlikely heroes saw the lights of the city ahead. Double d snapped his fingers in remembrance

"oh yeah" he proclaimed "today's mardi gras!" eddy raised an eyebrow

"you say that as if it were a good thing. How is it a good thing?" double d turned to the other two

"because if kevin is right behind us, he'll never find us in this crowd! He won't even know where to start!" double d proclaimed in joy "cmon, fellows, let's get into the thick of it!" eddy and ed cheered with a unanimous "yeah!" following after him. Soon the three were wrapped up in the drunken madness that is mardi gras, nobody even noticing that there were three underage partiers that had now joined them. But the eds weren't the only strange additions to the party.

meanwhile...

delta sat at a table in a local bar, enjoying a drink along with some peace and quiet from the partying. Then ritter stepped out from the shadows behind delta "two days left delta" delta's face fell almost instantly after that sentence

"I know, I know. For some reason, no fish are biting. So many people in the world willing to sell their souls away, where did they all go?"

"who knows" ritter replied with a shrug, picking up a drink of his own " sometimes, life decides to just throw the world a freebie. But dont worry, alot can happen in two days. But only if you get off your sorry ass" delta got the message and stood up, downing the last of his drink. Turning around ritter draped his arm around delta's shoulder and motioned him to look out the window

" dont look now, but I think I see three perfect candidates right out there" delta looked and saw something he couldn't believe

his little brother and his two friends. Slowly, a cheshire cat grin spread across his face

"jackpot" he uttered lowly


	2. Delta's proposal

Sorry about the wait, but it's called college, maybe you've heard of it. Anyway, I tried making it a bit longer to compensate. Enjoy

once again, I own nothing. If I did, you wouldn't be seeing this on a friggin fanfiction site, would you?

The eds were currently partaking in a conga line with other, more inebriated partiers. Most likely having completely forgotten their reason for drowning themselves in the festivities, our unlikely heroes were simply attempting to enjoy themselves. Shifting through the crowd (and picking up a few wallets along the way), Delta made his way slowly over to his little brother. A simple tap on the shoulder got eddy to turn around, seeing his bro towering above him "bro!" he proclaimed joyously, wrapping his arms around his torso. He then called out for double d and ed "hey guys, I found my bro!" aforementioned two looked over to eddy, running over to him

"that's wonderful eddy!" double d congratulated, while ed hugged his two compatriots

"safe at last!" ed proclaimed, like he usually does. Delta chuckled at their antics, but decided to get to the questions at hand

"what are you three doing in new orleans, and where the hell are mom and dad?" he asked

"mom and dad are back home, probably screaming their heads off" eddy joked "as for why we're here...that's a bit of a long story" delta smirked

"well, it doesn't matter I guess. Come on, I'll take you to my hotel" and with that, delta turned and walked off, with the eds close behind

later...

Delta opened the door to his hotel, and let the eds inside. The hotel room was SWANKY, no, scratch that, it hunts down every dictionary on earth, erases the definition of the word "swanky" and just gorilla glues a picture of that room on the spot where the definition used to be. Not only was it a penthouse suite, but it had a beautiful view of the city, and a 70 inch plasma screen T.V with the latest game systems sitting at the foot! Needless to say, the eds were all over this, eddy and ed going over to the game console and popping in...whatever game is actually good for the new consoles (NOTE: as of when I've written this, the PS4 and Xbone have only been out for a year or so, and this is during the time when the amount of good games for the WiiU has only recently began to increase. So if a good game has come out for those systems by the time you read this, I'm sorry) while double d admired the view. Delta sat on the bed, kicking off his boots while watching the teens play.

"man, this is awesome!" eddy announced, before a question popped into his head. Pausing the game to turn back to his bro, he asked "hey, bro, how did you afford all this anyway?" delta just gave a sly smile

"let's just say my benefactor is quite, shall we say, generous. I run a few errands for him, and he keeps me well compensated" delta explained vaguely. Double d eyed him with a air of suspicion, after all, what kind of errand boy gets this much cash? But hey, they're getting a safe haven out of it

so the question is "what's the catch?" double d asks out loud. Delta turned to him with a raised eyebrow

"what do you mean?" he replies

"you've never called eddy, never contacted him, save for the occasional gift from your travels, and according to eddy, the same can be said for your parents. For all intents and purposes, you seem to have cut off all ties to your family, so why are you just taking us in without a second thought? I want to know the catch" The sock head scrutinized the older man with the focus and intensity of a police detective, but delta was not so easily dissuaded

"do I need a reason to help my little brother?" he asked, standing up and towering over Edd "I admit, my relationship with mom and dad is...shaky at best, but I don't take that out on him, I haven't called him because my job is hectic and requires alot of travelling. My phone minutes are spent conversing with the boss, and any clients he has me assigned to. This is literally the only vacation I've had in quite some time, and I was originally planning on contacting eddy personally. But, what providence, here you all are. Does that answer your question?" double d stood his ground for a minute, still suspicious, but saw fit to back down for now. Eddy, wanting to break the tension, made himself heard again

"hey, why so glum sockhead? We're in a penthouse, with my awesome bro, and...do we have room service?" delta picked up the phone

"what'll it be?" delta asked with a wink

after a copious and filling meal, the eds were left lying on their back on the beds, content with themselves. Eddy patted his belly, letting out a burp "I tell ya guys, we are officially living the good life." double d however, was still bugged by something

"but for how long?" he asks "how long until they find us again?" eddy's good mood instantly hit the unfortunate brick wall that is reality, sitting up to look at his friend

"you're being a real negative nancy, ya know that?" eddy chastised, but double d turned to him sternly and locked him with a steely gaze

"I'm serious, eddy" double d shot back "kevin isn't messing around this time, and after what happened, who can blame him? one way or another, he'll find us, and then what?" eddy's head slouched in concern and in thought. But delta walked out of the bathroom, having overheard the conversation

"I could help you with that" he offered. Eddy shot up and rushed over to his bro

"see, guys, my bro's got it all handled." eddy proclaimed, looking up to his brother "so, what's the plan?"

"remember my employers I told you about?" delta asked "well, they specialize in hired jobs. People like me present people like you, with contracts like this..." from delta's fist descended a parchment. It was your typical contract, with a series of paragraphs detailing the deal, and a red dotted line at the bottom. Delta continued "...and when my clients sign the contract, my employers help them with whatever they require. For a fee of course" delta lays the paper on the table, and the three eds look over the paper. Double d lifted the paper to read it more carefully

"We, the undersigned agree, that in exchange for the protection provided to us by the branded organization in possession of this paper, that we shall offer our unquestioning service to aforementioned organization. Services include, errand running, bodyguard duty, and negotiating with clients should the boss be otherwise unavailable due to business." Double d read carefully. before he could read anymore, the overeager eddy snatched the paper from his hands, grabbed a pen and signed his name

"sounds good to me" he agreed recklessly "getting out of here, and all we have to do is get some milk for some old crone, count me in" ed also took a pen and wordlessly wrote his own name. Whether or not he agreed was irrelevant, eddy had already signed, so ed was going to mostly keep him out of trouble. Eddy handed the pen to double d "cmon man" he said "this is a great deal. Just sign it" double d hesitated for a moment or two, before remembering that eddy and ed were going one way or another, so he may as well follow them

"very well" he relented, taking the pen and writing on the dotted line. Delta then rolled up the paper, smiling at them crookedly

"pleasure doing business with you" he said to them before the doorbell to the penthouse rang "oh, that must be him now" delta walked over to the door, opening it to reveal Ritter, who bowed curtly at the eds

"Mr's Ed, Edd, and eddy" he greeted "my name is Ritter, and I will be escorting you to your new estates..."


	3. new home

new chapter out early! A short one compared to last time, but oh well. Luckily, we're getting to the really cool stuff soon, so chapters will be much more frequent from here on out, and hopefully, much longer.

once again, I own nothing

To say the eds were weirded out would be an understatement. Here was this tall, thin, bald man who was paler than moonlight, sporting a polite, yet somehow insincere smile, and was currently offering them a place to stay right after they signed a contract with eddy's brother

Yeah, double d's BS detector was going off the scale, but for some reason he didn't seem to mind. At least he thinks he doesn't mind, why would he and his friends be absentmindedly moving towards the strange man if he didn't mind? The eds stopped in front of ritter, eddy deciding to speak up "estates, what do you mean estates?" he asked

"why, you signed a contract with mr. delta here, so I'm here to keep up our end of the bargain. You shall be escorted to the estate of one Zephyr Seraphim immediately" Ritter explained. The eds were dumbfounded, not only were they about to be rid of their pursuers once and for all, from the sound of it, they were going to be living it up from now on. Eddy and ed were of course ecstatic

"yeah baby!" eddy declared "bout time we got some respect around here! Not only that, we get a mansion, A MANSION!"

"I could cultivate a veritable chicken armada, and finally conquer the earth!" ed proclaimed, earning looks form eddy and double d alike, while ritter leaned over to delta

"I like that one" ritter commented, while delta smirked

"only the best for master seraphim" he replied, turning back to the eds "alright then, it was nice seeing you again pipsqueak, but I'm guessing you want to head off to your new home as fast as possible" eddy jumped and hugged his brother

"you're the absolute coolest bro a guy could have, Matt" eddy proclaimed, but then his face turned to that of confusion. When he looked at delta, or matt as it were, he looked way more shocked than eddy did, as if this were the first time in years he had heard his own name. Matt turned back to Ritter, who simply nodded his head

"you're free to go, Matt" he said simply, Matt putting eddy down

"bro, what does he mean by that?" he asked matt, who quickly shook off his surprise

"n-nothing, eddy, it's nothing. I...gotta go" Matt then ran off down the hall of the hotel, leaving the eds dumbstruck while Ritter just stared on

"safe journey...friend" ritter mumbled to himself with a hint of sadness in his voice. Ritter then turned back to the eds, his mouth back to his pleasant smile "well then, shall we go?" Ritter walked off, with the Eds close behind. Ed noticed eddy's confusion and decided to ask him what was wrong

"something eating you eddy?" he asked

"did you know my brother's name was Matthew?' eddy asked the two of them. Double d put his finger to his chin in thought

"can't say that I did" he replied with a shrug

"me neither" ed added

"strangely enough...neither did I" eddy said confused "but when I signed that contract, it was like the memory of his name just came back to me"

"curious" double d mused to himself in thought as the four exited the hotel. In front of them was now a sleek, luxurious, black limousine with the door open, waiting for them. Ritter waited by the car door and hurried them inside. Now that the eds were in the car, ritter followed inside, sitting opposite them as the door closed. There was a bottle of sparkling white grape juice (if you haven't had sparkling grape juice, GO HAVE SPARKLING GRAPE JUICE, specifically around new years) in an ice bucket between them and three wine glasses. Ritter gestured for them to take a drink, and the eds complied.

"I apologize for Delta's behavior bu-"

"matt" eddy interrupted ritter, who seemed unfazed, but a twitch in his eyebrow suggested otherwise

"quite. Anyway, I apologize for his behavior, I don't know what came over him" ritter lied. They didn't need to know just yet "but in any case, you three are now in service to master Seraphim, in exchange for him giving you shelter in his home, you will do what he says, when he says it, and how he says it should be done, I hope that is clear" Ritter gave them a look in his eye that told them to say yes, otherwise this trip would probably have a much different destination, so the eds quickly nodded in response, causing ritter's smile to return "excellent, and just in time, we're here..." ritter snapped his fingers causing the doors to open, allowing the eds out. When they stepped out, to their shock and disbelief, they suddenly found themselves in a mountainous forest, with not a sign of civilization to be found for seemingly miles around! The eds...took it well

"WHAT THE HELL?!" they all screamed in unison, panicked like nothing else

"sockhead, where the hell are we?" asked eddy panicky

"we seem to be in...in...the black forest" double d responded, doing everything he could to keep himself calm

"and that would be...?' ed asked him

"Baden-Wurttemberg Germany" double d finally answered, making eddy flip out

"how the flying hell are we in friggin GERMANY?!" eddy was about 3 seconds away from losing his tiny mind when Ritter pinched eddy's neck in a way that seemed to instantly calm him down " ya know what...maybe this aint all that bad" eddy sighed in relief as Ritter released him, returning him to normal, but calmed down

"follow mr eddy's example and calm down please" Ritter patiently stated "I assure you all will be explained, but first we must get to the castle" ed and double d looked up

"castle?" asked ed. Ritter then turned, pointing to a massive, imposing, gothic castle that glistened in the sun, appearing to be as black as night. The castle Seemed to be hanging off the side of the mountain, but upon closer inspection one would see that it kinda was, although intentionally, as the side of the castle that hung off curved back into the mountainside, keeping it balanced.

"welcome to your new homes, my friends" Ritter proclaimed "Castle Trotz" (Trotz meaning "defiance" in german) The eds didn't know whether to be amazed or scared out of their wits. But something told them they were about to find out...

meanwhile...

From atop the towers of the castle sat a silhouetted figure wielding binoculars, the only thing truly visible were the figure's gorgeously glowing blue eyes. The figure looked through the scopes to see the eds arriving to the gates of Castle Trotz

"so they've arrived" spoke the figure in an undeniably female voice "this ought to be fun..."


	4. Zephyr Seraphim

hey everybody, we're back! Oh, and BTW, I think I should mention this now, the eds in this story are about 16-18, so as to not put 12 year olds through...whatever I plan on putting them through (no spoilers for you). Also, I apologize to any germans reading this for the fact that I couldn't spell Wurttemberg correctly, since I'm using an american computer and keyboard, I can't spell any words in other languages correctly because I lack the proper key.

as usual, I own nothing, let's get on with the story

The eds and Ritter approached the doors to the castle, the eds being justifiably nervous. However, that mattered not to Ritter, who knocked on the castle doors. The massive Mahogany doors (because it's just not a castle if the doors aren't big enough for Bruce Campbell's chin) opened, revealing another pale butler behind them, who stepped out of the way to let them in "welcome home, Ritter" he greeted as Ritter and the eds walked past "I assume these are Delta's replacements?" Ritter nodded "good" the butler replied "master Seraphim wishes to speak with them immediately" the eds looked at each other in confusion

"oh don't look so confused" Ritter said to the three "The master wishes to greet his new wards personally, as well as lay down some...necessary ground rules. Now follow me..." The eds followed tentatively after the butler through the gothic halls of the castle. The interior in all honesty, was gorgeous, if a bit frightening. Stained glass windows depicting mythical beasts battling filtered the sunlight into a myriad of colors that danced along the onyx black floors, upon which ran a fabulous blood red silk carpet for them to walk on. Stone busts of other various creatures lined the other side of the hallway, while above their heads hung beautiful chandeliers of gold and silver. While at first they were afraid of this castle and laid inside, something about the inside seemed to...calm the eds. As if they had just walked through the doors of their own homes, that same feeling of security and sanctuary. However, the walk finally ended at a pair of normal wood doors with the words 'master's office' engraved in several languages at the top, indicating that this was the workplace of the elusive master "well, here we are" Ritter announced, opening the doors. Master Seraphim's office was dark, one could barely see 3 inches in front of him, that was, until Ritter announced his presence "master, I have arrived with our new recruits" he proclaimed. The darkness in the room just seemed to disappear as candles around the room took light. To the left was an average stone fireplace, upon the mantelpiece however, hung the skull of a creature of indescribable nature. The skull seemed to have 3 different holes for eyes along each side of its face, its snout brandished two incredibly long tusks, at the end of both sprouted two additional smaller tusks for both of the big ones, and teeth that looked like they could bite through solid steel protruded haphazardly from the upper and lower jaw. Double d prayed that the skull was merely a masterfully constructed hoax. Then, sitting behind a mahogany desk, sitting in a leather office chair, was none other than the master himself, Zephyr Seraphim. Zephyr was a tall man, probably late 30's-early 40's, wearing a black pinstripe suit with a red tie, jet black hair with hints of gray around the ends, with a goatee to match, and sporting a pair of blood red eyes that seemed to deeply analyze our three heroes the minute they came into the room. Zephyr smirked somewhat emotionlessly at his servant's call

"bring them in, Ritter" he commanded in a voice as slick as oil "I wish to meet them" the eds, ever hesitantly approached the master of the house, while Ritter took his place at the master's side. Zephyr gestured for them to sit down in three chairs set up from them, his face turning into a polite smile "sit down boys, and let's get to know each other" he offered. The eds sat in the chairs and, after realizing how comfortable these chairs were, finally loosened up "now then, what did you say your names were?" Zephyr asked, resting his chin on the back of his fist

"m-my name is Eddward, sir, but most call me d-double d." double d answered, giving the other two courage to speak up as well

"my name is ed" ed proclaimed

"I'm eddy" eddy announced finally. Zephyr nodded at their names

"I see" he mused "well, what a coincidence, three new recruits with the exact same name, more or less." Zephyr then shot up, realizing how uncomfortable the three were "my apologies, would you three like anything? Perhaps refreshments?" a calm smile replacing his former expression. eddy and double d were still rather nervous, but ed shot up at the mention of food

"I want butter toast!" he announced as if butter toast was the food of kings! Zephyr chuckled at this and turned to Ritter

"Splendid, Ritter, if you would be so kind?" Ritter nodded in response to Zephyr's command and clapped his hands together twice, as if activating a clap on switch. Then, from the door came another butler carrying a tray consisting of three plates of butter toast for all three of them. The eds, thoroughly famished, decided to dig in "wonderful" Zephyr said happily "and would you like any drinks with that?" the eds nodded due to their full mouths, causing Ritter to snap his fingers, and another butler walks in with three cans of orange soda, which the eds took gratefully, gulping down the sweet nectar. After they were finished, Zephyr felt it was time to get down to business "now then, down to business. You three have requested my sanctuary, and I am inclined to provide it. In exchange for that, however, I require certain tasks to be performed on my behalf" eddy waved it off

"yeah, yeah, we get ya boss. A few deliveries here, a mopped floor there..." eddy trailed off, believing that Zephyr understood his compliance. Zephyr, however, was far from amused

"I'm afraid it goes a bit...shall we say, deeper than that, my boy. While, true, castle maintenance and package deliveries are part of it, the tasks that you will be trained for are a tad bit more daunting." the eds were very confused. They were three 18 year old kids, what else could this man want from them? Zephyr continued "Let me make something clear, as I believe there has been some miscommunication somewhere along the line. You three, are my property now. For you, I had to give up Delta, one of my finest recruits for several years, so I expect to receive my money's worth. As such, you will be trained and honed to perform the various kinds of jobs that were expected from him. Assassinations, racketeering, drug smuggling, that sort of thing" the eds eyes widened in synch as their master went down the list. Double d was especially sweating, with the knowledge that he had just signed onto a CRIME SYNDICATE! Eddy attempted to regain his composure, putting on his most confrontational face as he stood and slammed his hands on Zephyr's desk.

"Who the hell do you think you are, goat face?" he asked furiously, mocking Zephyr's facial follicles. Zephyr, however, remained stoic

"sit down and shut up, boy!" he ordered, his slick business voice morphing into a commanding bark expected from an army general. Almost against his will, eddy sat back down in his chair, his mouth refusing to open. Zephyr calmed himself surprisingly quickly, returning to his explanation "I was getting to that part. I run an organization known simply as 'the contractors'. We are mercenaries, assassins for hire, and businessmen, as you've no doubt seen. You've become acquainted with our namesake, the contract..." Zephyr extended his open hand, and, from his palm, arose the contract the eds signed, coated in a green fiery aura "...this legally binding contract states that all three of you are now under my protection. However, that also means that you belong to me, bodies and souls. You quite literally go where I say you go, and do what I say you do. For instance, Eddy, you may speak" Eddy, who was pulling at his lips to get them to open, suddenly regained the ability to open his mouth again "now then, slap ed" at Zephyr's command, eddy backhanded ed across the face

"what the-I-I'm sorry, ed" he stammered as ed rubbed his face. Zephyr chuckled, loving this part of the job

"I think revenge is in order" he suggested "ed, punch eddy in the gut" the lump then swung his fist into eddy's gut, sending him flying out of his chair and slamming into the mantle above the fireplace with a hard THUD, surprising everyone in the room, including ed "well...that was unexpected" Zephyr admitted, seeing eddy attempt to bring himself to his feet "oh, get up, you're fine" at first sounding callous, Zephyr proves to be right as eddy staggered to his feet, dazed but otherwise unhurt.

"what...the?" eddy mumbled

"after signing the contract to become a contractor yourself, you are given a...strange, but useful side effect. All three of your bodies are now 50% more durable than before. Ed could have thrown you threw a wall, and you would only have 2 or 3 broken bones. Now, back to your seat" eddy stiffened like a board and walked over to his chair with the fluidity of a wind up toy robot before sitting back down "I promise to not use this control power, if you three do what I say of your own free will. Now, I don't need a yes from you, you will work foe me, you gave your consent for me to do whatever I wanted with you when you signed the contract" at that line, everyone but Zephyr internally shivered, their minds subconsciously going to...unpleasant places. Zephyr just rolled his eyes "oh please, I'm many things, but whatever you're thinking of I am far from. Now, since all that is officially out of the way, you may go to your rooms. You already know where they are. Dismissed..." The eds stood up and mindlessly walked out of the office and into the hallway. The minute the doors closed, the eds were free to fall to their knees, overwhelmed by what just happened.

"guys" eddy started "am...am I dreaming?" Double d was close to bursting into tears

"oh, h-how I wish you were" he replied, holding back sobs with all his might. Ed stood and started walking

"need bed...must sleep" ed murmured, thoroughly tired from today's events. The other two eds stood and followed him, double d wiping his eyes and swallowing his sobs before calming down finally. As Zephyr said, they somehow knew exactly where their rooms were. Good thing too, because their rooms were halfway across the castle, so who knows how long it would've taken otherwise. Their rooms were actually quite nice, although the walls were rather barren, there was a window across the room that had a lovely view of the forest, there were three queen sized beds for each of them, and there was a good sized television sitting atop an entertainment center. The eds stared in awe at their new lifestyle for a moment before realizing the horrible truth

They were finally living in luxury, but at the cost of their choice in the matter.

However, they were snapped out of their sobering thoughts by Ritter appearing behind them "the rooms are always left rather plain. Since you shall be with us for quite some time, you may customize and add to this room as much as you please." he explained, walking away "your training begins tomorrow at 9:00 sharp. You can either show up there, cleaned dressed and ready to go, or you can be there because master Seraphim ordered you there, scraggly, drowsy and under clothed. Either way, you will be there, understood?" the eds shot a fearful salute, at which Ritter nodded and continued on his way. The eds walked into their room, chose their beds, laid down and instantly went to sleep...

the next morning...

The eds sat in a row of desks, in what appeared to be your run of the mill classroom. Surrounding them were about 10-12 different people. Some were old, some were their age, some were actually younger! While Double d was dressed, cleaned and ready to learn (their current situation provided no excuse for lack of etiquette in the classroom) Eddy was only half awake and just dressed well enough to be let in, while Ed was already asleep and only had his jeans on, left in his stained white undershirt. The door then opened, signifying that class was in session, and that the teacher had arrived. Eddy (along with many of the students) instantly woke up when the teacher came in. She was about 18-19, dressed in the usual attire of well pressed black suit, but now with a bright blue tie, had dazzling, long red hair, and a shapely, yet stocky figure, showing that this was a woman who had seen her share of fights. But the most eye catching part of her, was her beautiful, _glowing cobalt blue eyes_. The woman walked over to the desk, laying a dossier on the table top, and looking up to greet the class with a smile that would look right at home on Hannibal Lector's face "good morning class" she greeted "my name is Cobalt, and I'll be your firearms teacher today"


End file.
